Guide to a Flying Project

Most FAAM flying is arranged in the form of flying projects, or ‘campaigns’. Each one is a separate piece of work and has its own Principal Investigator (often supported by co-Investigators) who is usually external to FAAM. FAAM lead a dedicated planning activity for each campaign. Each campaign is scheduled to fit within a flying window in the calendar, and several projects may run concurrently if their requirements and need for flying hours allow.

Roles in a Campaign

• PI (principal investigator) is the lead researcher for the research project.

• Co-I (co-investigator) assists the PI in the management and leadership of the research project.

• FAAM Ops / Detachment manager coordinates FAAM operations

• FAAM-Science Link is a member of FAAM staff who facilitates exchange of information about measurement science requirements between FAAM and its users

• Airtask Ops offer advice on flight plans, arrange permissions, generate detailed aircraft flight plans to submit to aviation authorities based on sortie briefs, submit notices to other airspace users.

• Project Pilot is a specific pilot assigned to the project to assist in the planning of a campaign who will have specialist familiarity with its flying plans (note that it is likely that all pilots will be involved in flying)

Planning Flights

Scientists involved in a campaign, often the PI and co-I(s), create ‘sortie briefs’ for their planned flights. Training can be provided for those new to the process (see the Training and resources chapter, specifically the Mission Scientist Training). A sortie brief is a written plan for the flight, produced by a science user well in advance of the flight. It is used to provide Airtask with the waypoints and timings needed to file a flight plan, and to communicate to everyone on board what the plan is, and how it relates to the basic objectives. The sortie brief writing process is iterative, with a first draft sent to Airtask early on in the planning process so they can begin to understand requirements, request permissions and provide feedback.

On the day before a flight, FAAM Operations and Airtask work with the scientists involved to finalise the flight crew list and determine the flight schedule, including planned timings and other logistical details.

Guide to a Flying Day

To get the best experience from your flying day it’s important that you know what to expect and how to prepare. More details about what’s involved before, during and after a flight can be found in the FAAM document Information for FAAM Flyers, available on the FAAM website . FAAM provides a variety of services to view live data when the aircraft is doing science. See the Getting data in real time chapter for more details. If you have any questions, please get in touch with FAAM Ops (faamops@ncas.ac.uk).

Planning Timeline

It usually takes around 18-24 months between initial contact and aircraft deployment - but the timeline will depend on the type of use, and complexity of work involved. For example, Research Runway applicants may be able to deploy the aircraft in under six months, whereas a large commercial programme will likely take longer. After your application is processed and the funding application is successful, a member of the FAAM Operations team will be designated as your point of contact. We hold a collaborative campaign kick-off meeting to find out exactly how we can support you. Then, we coordinate flying and logistics requirements with all our collaborators.

A typical planning timeline may look like:

1. Campaign start-up meeting

   • User provides FAAM with a detailed understanding of their requirements.

   • When? Immediately following the award decision.

   • Who’s involved? Users, FAAM Operations staff, FAAM-Science Link, Airtask, Avalon.

2. Detailed planning phase

   • We make logistical, operational, technical and scientific preparations. We arrange monthly meetings to monitor progress. We establish who will be undertaking various roles, and arrange training for new mission scientists and instrument operators where necessary.

   • When? 0 - 12 months prior to the start of flying

   • Who’s involved? Users, FAAM Operations staff, FAAM-Science Link, FAAM Technical staff, Airtask, Avalon.

3. Deadline for requests for major changes to requirements

   • Major details such as location and dates are finalised.

   • When? 6 months prior to the start of flying.

   • Who’s Involved? Users, FAAM Operations staff, Airtask, Avalon

4. Deadline for sending FAAM estimate of pack-up and shipping requirements

   • We need to know how much equipment needs to be shipped where.

   • When? 6 months prior to the start of flying.

   • Who’s involved? Users and their collaborators, FAAM staff, Avalon

5. Reconnaissance (‘recce’) visit to operating base

   • When? 3 to 6 months prior to the start of flying

   • Who’s involved? FAAM Operations staff, Airtask, Avalon engineer

6. Deadline for requests for minor changes to requirements

   • We finalise minor changes to the plan, such as instrument fit, number of staff members, finer detail about pack-up and shipping requirements, and facilities required at the operating base.

   • When? 3 months prior to start of flying

   • Who’s involved? Users, FAAM Operations staff, Airtask, Avalon

7. Campaign launch day (for larger campaigns)

   • Users deliver a presentation to the rest of the team about their science aims, and we provide training, a logistics and health and safety briefing. There is also the opportunity to meet those involved in the flying and ask questions.

   • When? Within 1 month prior to start of flying

   • Who’s involved? All campaign participants: users and their collaborators, wider FAAM team, Airtask, Avalon

8. Project Test Flying

   • Following ground testing, one or more test flights are conducted to verify that the installed instruments perform effectively under actual flight conditions. This flight-testing phase ensures that instruments meet operational standards and are ready for the upcoming campaign. This will be flying from Cranfield to test instruments requested for the project. The hours will be managed by FAAM and any unused hours can not be added to science flying hours.

   • When? Within 1 month prior to start of flying

   • Who’s involved? Users, FAAM team, Airtask, Avalon

The Campaign Itself

Campaigns Based at Cranfield

For campaigns conducted at Cranfield, accommodation and transport to the facility is not arranged centrally by FAAM. On a flying day, all campaign personnel are required to arrive at Building 146 at a designated time, typically this will be at least 30 minutes before the science briefing time. This will be communicated to you via an email from FAAM Ops. Details of timings for the flight can be found using the calendar on the FAAM website (login required).

Campaigns based away from Cranfield

For campaigns conducted away from Cranfield, everyone involved will ideally stay at the same hotel, as arranged by FAAM during the campaign planning process. Group transport will be arranged between the hotel and the airport according to the schedule for the flying day, which will be shared by email, Whatsapp and via the calendar on the FAAM website.

A conference room is normally secured to serve as the central operations hub for campaign activities, either at the hotel where staff are staying or at the airport. This facility is used as a work space for flight planning, flight monitoring, data processing, checking emails etc . As with campaigns based at Cranfield, whilst a flight is happening a ground-based team of ops staff and scientists will make plans for the following days.

Feedback Process

The campaign feedback process is an essential part of the FAAM Aircraft operations, designed to gather valuable insights following the completion of a science campaign. This process helps ensure continuous improvement of our operations, services, and support. For more details, please see the Feedback chapter.